Ok... here we go...
I have a family reunion of sorts coming up on July 26/27. It will also be Philip's 28th birthday that Sunday. I received the email today that mother has scheduled a sitting for photographs to be taken that weekend. The joy on my face right now... Back in the days of childhood when film had to be developed I may not have liked going to a photographer to put a fake smile on my face but at least I understood that--lacking the photography training & equipment--it was a necessary evil to be completed. However, in this awesome non-Aztec calendar year of 2008 pretty much everyone in the family has a digital camera quite capable of capturing our contrived smiles and instantly showing us whether we need to pose again for another take due to blinkage, random anamolies and the potential Disney ghost who stowed away in our image to leave the haunted house.
*shaking head*
A month ago I posted that I was starting a new job on June 18th. So much has happened in this first month and I've recited various specifics to different friends that trying to bullet point them right now feels like a chore. The important thing to note is that I am still enjoying myself. Below is the view from my front desk area...
My first week working on the property, one of my co-workers, Joseph, introduced me to a friend of his named Kyle. Both of them have been pleasant surprises resulting from taking this job. Various slychology babble espouses that it takes 21 days to form or break a habit. It would be no coincidence then that the amount of time Kyle and I have spent together over the last 21 days has put him in the forefront of my thoughts.
We seem to have met during a time of transition for both of us. For me, it's easy to want to romanticize outcomes. It always has been. When I know nothing about a person I will generally assume the best of intentions until actions prove to the contrary. However, even with this natural quixotic blueprint that I work from, I do have the ancient "Dead Relationship Scrolls" that clearly have lessons I have been taught recorded in blood, tears and sometimes even the screams of growing pains. Accordingly, I am trying to focus on the present so that I can learn and enjoy every moment.
I finished reading Kyle's online blog today. I started from the beginning and read every entry forward to the present. There have been times when we've been resting next to each other and I will look into his eyes and alternately see the forthright, confident social personality that is often readily observable by most but I also see the boy who writes semi-nostalgic entries about North Carolina and wonders if he will find someone who will not only someday be a Valentine, but a character of acceptance and support rather than judgment for the industries he works in. While I can completely understand this intellectually, I know it is a rare person (who is not a sociopath) who can embrace this emotionally. As is usually the case with any issue, being able to see both sides doesn't make me any wiser or knowledgeable; ultimately I just think more and more.
And so he is in my thoughts quite constantly.
Eddie and his gang from Las Vegas will be arriving tomorrow. Mark will be driving Nick up from Long Beach and meeting me at work until I'm off. The plan then is to meet up with Eddie's crew at The Abbey for Frenchy's bday drinks and just a general celebration of friendship. That is something that can never be praised too much in my mind. People's importance and value should be acknowledged. (But I wouldn't mind either if everyone could just start reading my mind so I wouldn't have to remind myself to speak up... haha)
The Thursday is here.... no more writing....
